


How the 104th Sleeps

by anavoli



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-10
Updated: 2015-01-10
Packaged: 2018-03-06 22:50:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3151271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anavoli/pseuds/anavoli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sleeping is a solitary endeavor, and everyone has their secrets. The 104th squad is no different, and though their dreams are dark and scary, with too many nightmares to count, there's a little bit of light tucked beneath the covers too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How the 104th Sleeps

**Eren** sleeps with his mother's lullaby echoing in his mind, the only time when he can drown out the screaming of titans. He begins the night curled up under the covers and ends up splayed out on the mattress, sometimes even on the ground, hand clutching the brass key circling his neck in hopes that the dreams - memories - whatever they are - are kept at bay until morning.

Always alert,  **Mikasa**  finds herself wandering the halls in the throes of insomnia. Sometimes she'll walk up to the roof, under the stars, and go through her drills. Forwards, sideways, tuck, and punch. It's a rhythm that she falls into, as easily as the others fall asleep, a welcome cycle much more predictable than her every day life.

 **Armin**  seems to have the best dreams, often smiling as he hugs the blankets closer to his body. No one will ever know what beauty he finds in the recesses of his mind, so filled already with research and battle strategies. Sometimes he dreams of butterflies, and others, liquid fire.

For someone who is so brash and outspoken,  **Jean**  is surprisingly still and silent as he sleeps. His sleep is often undisturbed, laying on his side and hands reaching out as if he has lost something and is waiting for its return.

Everyone has a treasure, and for  **Sasha** , it's a beat up old stuffed pig made of leather. She holds it tightly to her chest and dreams of hunting in the woods back home, always making sure to return it to its hiding place under her bed. Wouldn't want anyone to find out she still sleeps with a toy, after all.

 **Connie** mutters a lot in his sleep. Nonsensical things such as when dinner will be or why the idiots won't stop bothering him. Sometimes he even laughs, waking up the rest of the squad at times, but they don't mind. And when he screams, it doesn't take a fool to realize he dreams of home.

 **Christa -**  or  **Historia -**  or whoever the hell she is - would be lying if she didn't say she's often haunted by memories. She's gotten good at hiding her cold silence and nights of laying awake with dry eyes - a little makeup can go a long way. In the morning she puts on a smile and adds yet another to the list of lies she holds around her heart.

It's no secret that  **Ymir**  is older than she looks, and that is not a compliment. She gets her beauty sleep alright, but at times she will wake up, gasping and wondering where she is. It takes her mere seconds to remember where she is, who she is, and what she's done.

 **Reiner**  goes to sleep chanting his mantra in his head, a nightly reminder of why he's here, why he does the things he does. He is strong, he sleeps through the night, his snores drive the others crazy, but in the morning, he feels as if he didn't sleep a wink.

 **Bertholdt** sweats, and it all soaks into the sheets when he's driven out of a dreamy haze of blood and pain. He spends nights staring at the wood of the bunk above him, wishing he could be half as strong and certain as his friends. It doesn't matter, he reminds himself, it's just who we are - our duty in life. Duty. Closing his eyes, he dreams of a home he can barely remember anymore.

The days are lonely for  **Annie** , but night is when she can see the people she cares about most. Her father, her friends, people whose faces she can no longer remember. The days are lonely, but night is nothing important. Another night, another day of work, someday the cycle will finally come to a stop.

And she can finally go home.


End file.
